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Published On: Mar 17, 2007 02:40 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Mar 17, 2007 02:40 PM
Trip to Yosemite in August 2006
Our family trip to Yosemite National Park (in
California) in August of 2006.
August is usually a very hot month here in
California's Central Valley. So it is usually a good time to head to Yosemite.
Yosemite exists on a plateau carved out of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range by
glaciers long ago. It is always cooler and of course, always beautiful. The only
thing that could possibly mar Yosemite valley is of course, people like
me--tourists!
We had a visitor from Japan staying with us this year, Aguri Naito, from the town of Niigata. If you look up our Trip to Japan (which is also in this blog) you can see a picture of us at Aguri's home at a Tea Ceremony. We thought that since there is no natural wonder like Yosemite in Japan that she might enjoy a visit there. And if we could camp and keep the costs down that we might even be able to afford it! Our biggest expense was the cost of gas (which ran $3.75 in the Yosemite Valley) and buying expensive food from Yosemite vendors!
Brian was really looking forward to the trip. He wanted the camping experience to be a chance for him to practice what he had learned in the Army during Boot Camp and AIT. He even bought a box of standard Army rations (Meals Ready to Eat (MRE)) and Camelback water carriers. A Camelback looks like a wineskin that you carry on your back. It comes with a little hose that you can have hanging near your face so that you can always have a little sip as you backpack along. The MRE's and the camelback's came in really handy. While everyone else was eating granola bars on the trails we were eating full-fledged meals that were even hot! MRE's come with a chemical packet that you add water to. Once the water is added a chemical reaction takes place and the water heats up to a boil. You place your meal in the chemical pack and you have a hot meal. We had Mac n' Cheese, Pork, Spaghetti and even omelets on the road. And honestly they actually tasted quite nice! I was pretty amazed. What was even better is that these lunches were quite small and easily packable in our camelbacks. When you are on a long hike you don't want to be carrying too much weight!
Aguri and me eating our MRE's in Wawona.
Our first stop was in Wawona. This is the area in Yosemite where the Sequoia trees grow. Many of the trees are over 2000 years old and are the biggest living objects on Earth. As you can see from the following pictures they are huge and majestic. But I think emphasizing the size of the trees also misses the point. The local American Indians to the region knew that this area was sacred. I can only try to explain the effect this grove has had on me. The first time I hiked up to the grove I was tired, exhausted and hot. It was July and I was 25 years old. It was just another hike I supposed. I had seen these Sequoia trees all my life. Every Summer my parents would send me off on yet another YMCA camping trip to either Yosemite or Sequoia National parks. I even broke my right arm when I was 10 in Yosemite as I ran around my YMCA campground. Camping was never fun for me and I never really cared about these big trees that silently towered over me. Then when I was 25, after my grueling hike up to see the Wawona grove. I stopped and sat on an old tree that had fallen. I was tired and didn't want to hike anymore. Then I looked across from me and I saw a beautiful meadow with yellow flowers, a flowing stream, tall grass and a large grove of the most magnificent trees I had ever seen. But there was something more going on. It felt "holy". I have been to many churches and cathedrals throughout the world and none of them every really felt "holy". They just seemed like hollow, stoney structures. I felt the holiness that the American Indians had felt when they had first encountered the Wawona grove long ago. I had to stop and just absorb the scene. I had to disconnect myself from the other tourists who happened to walk on by and I had to just meditate on the beauty around me. It was one of those moments in my life that I will always remember. The pictures that I have of this grove do not do justice to the actual beauty and "zeitgeist" (time spirit) of the place. However, maybe they will give you an inkling into what it is like. And if you ever go to this grove. Please just sit down and enjoy the scenery unfettered by your modern day perceptions.
Picture on Left: Wawona Grove, stream and meadow flowers (Me, Laurana and Aguri)
Picture on Right: The Tunnel Tree (Unfortunately carved out in 1850 to make way for a carriage). My husband Brian (in his Army gear) and Laurana (on his shoulders)
I do need to make one comment about my husband and his Army gear. While we were camping he frequently wore his Army fatigues while we hiked. I will say that the fatigues and boots are actually very well designed for hiking and camping. However, the poor foreign tourists who ran into him were frequently worried. I speak some German, so I was able to overhear some German tourists and their reactions to him. They were a little afraid. They thought he might be carrying a gun, though he had none on him of course. My apologies for any tourists that he might had scared...
After Wawona we made a trip up to Glacier Point (7,274 feet (2220m) above sea level). Glacier Point has the most majestic views of the Yosemite valley and can be quite cold, even in Summer. The last time we were there it was July and there was still snow on the ground. This time we visited in August and there was no snow--even though it was a little chilly. I hope that you enjoy some of the pictures.
Picture on Top: Yosemite Valley as viewed from Glacier Point.
Picture on Bottom: Laurana, Brian and Me at Glacier Point.
Our final hike was a trip to Vernal Falls. Now if you read any literature on Vernal Falls, it tells you quite specifically that part of the hike is quite easy and part is quite difficult (though I had no idea what they meant by difficult until I got there). Since Laurana (our 6 year-old) was traveling with us we had agreed to only make part of the hike with her and would then turn back and allow Brian to make the rest of the hike on his own. (He wanted a long hike in order to keep in shape). Well, unfortunately I didn't bring my trail map with me and we started going past the area where we were supposed to stop. If any of you ever go on this hike you are supposed to stop at the bridge where the restroom and water fountains are. Well, we kept on going and by this time Laurana was on Brian's shoulders because she couldn't manage the hike anymore. Then we saw the stairs! carved out of solid granite were the stairs leading up to Vernal Falls. They were also wet from the waterfall mist and were quite slippery. Oh and did I mention that they were also very steep? One step could actually be a 2 foot step up! I felt like I was walking up a steep Aztec temple! Part of the way up I motioned to Brian (who was far ahead of me) that I had had enough and that I wanted to go back down. A hiker behind me said that I only had 10 minutes to go and that I shouldn't stop now. She said that I could kill her later at the top of the Vernal Falls if I wanted to. So I sighed and continued the hike up the slippery steps. I was so worried about Brian and Laurana she was on his shoulders and this was treacherous hiking. Finally after breaking out of the mist we made it to the top and had a gorgeous view of the river and rainbow that lied below.
Picture on Left: The treacherous steps to Vernal Falls
Picture on Right: View from the top of Vernal falls looking down on the rainbow in the mist.
Once we reached Vernal Falls we finally sat down and had our well-deserved MRE's. Laurana also splashed around in the water that pooled up beautifully before the waterfall. Before the waterfall is the Emerald Pool and the Silver Apron. By the way, the signs in the area specially state that no one is to swim in these areas due to the chance that someone might get caught in the current and end up going over the waterfall. This didn't keep about 200 people from enjoying the water however. (And I must say that my YMCA camp group in the 1970's didn't seem to worry about it either!) The most interesting thing is the Silver Apron. It's a large, smooth, granite, naturally occurring waterslide. I saw a few men jump into the thin stream (about 2-4 inches high) of water and then let the stream propel them into the Emerald pool below. My daughter wanted to join them (of course) but I told her that she needed to learn how to swim first since it was very deep in the Emerald Pool.
Picture on Left: Laurana splashing around the Emerald Pool before Vernal Falls
Picture on Right: People sliding down the Silver Apron before they splash into the Emerald Pool.
After going up the slippery granite steps to Vernal falls I really didn't want Brian to be hiking down with Laurana on his shoulders. I think I would have had a heart attack. So we choose a much longer, but easier route back. We took the John Muir Trail back, but unfortunately we also got lost along the way and made part of our trek back to Nevada Falls. Then we backtracked around before we finally made in onto the John Muir Trail. This trail had some spectacular views as you can see from the photos below. We were pretty tired by this point. We had started hiking at 10AM and now it was 4PM! We were hoping to get back before restaurants in Yosemite closed (they usually close at 8PM!). Luckily our tied bodies made it back in time and we had some well-deserved pizza before sleeping one more night in the Yosemite valley.
Picture on Left: Brian, myself and Laurana at the John Muir Trail coming back from Vernal Falls (This is the point where it intersects with the Glacier Point trail)
Picture on Right: Brian and Laurana at the same location.
We had a visitor from Japan staying with us this year, Aguri Naito, from the town of Niigata. If you look up our Trip to Japan (which is also in this blog) you can see a picture of us at Aguri's home at a Tea Ceremony. We thought that since there is no natural wonder like Yosemite in Japan that she might enjoy a visit there. And if we could camp and keep the costs down that we might even be able to afford it! Our biggest expense was the cost of gas (which ran $3.75 in the Yosemite Valley) and buying expensive food from Yosemite vendors!
Brian was really looking forward to the trip. He wanted the camping experience to be a chance for him to practice what he had learned in the Army during Boot Camp and AIT. He even bought a box of standard Army rations (Meals Ready to Eat (MRE)) and Camelback water carriers. A Camelback looks like a wineskin that you carry on your back. It comes with a little hose that you can have hanging near your face so that you can always have a little sip as you backpack along. The MRE's and the camelback's came in really handy. While everyone else was eating granola bars on the trails we were eating full-fledged meals that were even hot! MRE's come with a chemical packet that you add water to. Once the water is added a chemical reaction takes place and the water heats up to a boil. You place your meal in the chemical pack and you have a hot meal. We had Mac n' Cheese, Pork, Spaghetti and even omelets on the road. And honestly they actually tasted quite nice! I was pretty amazed. What was even better is that these lunches were quite small and easily packable in our camelbacks. When you are on a long hike you don't want to be carrying too much weight!
Aguri and me eating our MRE's in Wawona.
Our first stop was in Wawona. This is the area in Yosemite where the Sequoia trees grow. Many of the trees are over 2000 years old and are the biggest living objects on Earth. As you can see from the following pictures they are huge and majestic. But I think emphasizing the size of the trees also misses the point. The local American Indians to the region knew that this area was sacred. I can only try to explain the effect this grove has had on me. The first time I hiked up to the grove I was tired, exhausted and hot. It was July and I was 25 years old. It was just another hike I supposed. I had seen these Sequoia trees all my life. Every Summer my parents would send me off on yet another YMCA camping trip to either Yosemite or Sequoia National parks. I even broke my right arm when I was 10 in Yosemite as I ran around my YMCA campground. Camping was never fun for me and I never really cared about these big trees that silently towered over me. Then when I was 25, after my grueling hike up to see the Wawona grove. I stopped and sat on an old tree that had fallen. I was tired and didn't want to hike anymore. Then I looked across from me and I saw a beautiful meadow with yellow flowers, a flowing stream, tall grass and a large grove of the most magnificent trees I had ever seen. But there was something more going on. It felt "holy". I have been to many churches and cathedrals throughout the world and none of them every really felt "holy". They just seemed like hollow, stoney structures. I felt the holiness that the American Indians had felt when they had first encountered the Wawona grove long ago. I had to stop and just absorb the scene. I had to disconnect myself from the other tourists who happened to walk on by and I had to just meditate on the beauty around me. It was one of those moments in my life that I will always remember. The pictures that I have of this grove do not do justice to the actual beauty and "zeitgeist" (time spirit) of the place. However, maybe they will give you an inkling into what it is like. And if you ever go to this grove. Please just sit down and enjoy the scenery unfettered by your modern day perceptions.
Picture on Left: Wawona Grove, stream and meadow flowers (Me, Laurana and Aguri)
Picture on Right: The Tunnel Tree (Unfortunately carved out in 1850 to make way for a carriage). My husband Brian (in his Army gear) and Laurana (on his shoulders)
I do need to make one comment about my husband and his Army gear. While we were camping he frequently wore his Army fatigues while we hiked. I will say that the fatigues and boots are actually very well designed for hiking and camping. However, the poor foreign tourists who ran into him were frequently worried. I speak some German, so I was able to overhear some German tourists and their reactions to him. They were a little afraid. They thought he might be carrying a gun, though he had none on him of course. My apologies for any tourists that he might had scared...
After Wawona we made a trip up to Glacier Point (7,274 feet (2220m) above sea level). Glacier Point has the most majestic views of the Yosemite valley and can be quite cold, even in Summer. The last time we were there it was July and there was still snow on the ground. This time we visited in August and there was no snow--even though it was a little chilly. I hope that you enjoy some of the pictures.
Picture on Top: Yosemite Valley as viewed from Glacier Point.
Picture on Bottom: Laurana, Brian and Me at Glacier Point.
Our final hike was a trip to Vernal Falls. Now if you read any literature on Vernal Falls, it tells you quite specifically that part of the hike is quite easy and part is quite difficult (though I had no idea what they meant by difficult until I got there). Since Laurana (our 6 year-old) was traveling with us we had agreed to only make part of the hike with her and would then turn back and allow Brian to make the rest of the hike on his own. (He wanted a long hike in order to keep in shape). Well, unfortunately I didn't bring my trail map with me and we started going past the area where we were supposed to stop. If any of you ever go on this hike you are supposed to stop at the bridge where the restroom and water fountains are. Well, we kept on going and by this time Laurana was on Brian's shoulders because she couldn't manage the hike anymore. Then we saw the stairs! carved out of solid granite were the stairs leading up to Vernal Falls. They were also wet from the waterfall mist and were quite slippery. Oh and did I mention that they were also very steep? One step could actually be a 2 foot step up! I felt like I was walking up a steep Aztec temple! Part of the way up I motioned to Brian (who was far ahead of me) that I had had enough and that I wanted to go back down. A hiker behind me said that I only had 10 minutes to go and that I shouldn't stop now. She said that I could kill her later at the top of the Vernal Falls if I wanted to. So I sighed and continued the hike up the slippery steps. I was so worried about Brian and Laurana she was on his shoulders and this was treacherous hiking. Finally after breaking out of the mist we made it to the top and had a gorgeous view of the river and rainbow that lied below.
Picture on Left: The treacherous steps to Vernal Falls
Picture on Right: View from the top of Vernal falls looking down on the rainbow in the mist.
Once we reached Vernal Falls we finally sat down and had our well-deserved MRE's. Laurana also splashed around in the water that pooled up beautifully before the waterfall. Before the waterfall is the Emerald Pool and the Silver Apron. By the way, the signs in the area specially state that no one is to swim in these areas due to the chance that someone might get caught in the current and end up going over the waterfall. This didn't keep about 200 people from enjoying the water however. (And I must say that my YMCA camp group in the 1970's didn't seem to worry about it either!) The most interesting thing is the Silver Apron. It's a large, smooth, granite, naturally occurring waterslide. I saw a few men jump into the thin stream (about 2-4 inches high) of water and then let the stream propel them into the Emerald pool below. My daughter wanted to join them (of course) but I told her that she needed to learn how to swim first since it was very deep in the Emerald Pool.
Picture on Left: Laurana splashing around the Emerald Pool before Vernal Falls
Picture on Right: People sliding down the Silver Apron before they splash into the Emerald Pool.
After going up the slippery granite steps to Vernal falls I really didn't want Brian to be hiking down with Laurana on his shoulders. I think I would have had a heart attack. So we choose a much longer, but easier route back. We took the John Muir Trail back, but unfortunately we also got lost along the way and made part of our trek back to Nevada Falls. Then we backtracked around before we finally made in onto the John Muir Trail. This trail had some spectacular views as you can see from the photos below. We were pretty tired by this point. We had started hiking at 10AM and now it was 4PM! We were hoping to get back before restaurants in Yosemite closed (they usually close at 8PM!). Luckily our tied bodies made it back in time and we had some well-deserved pizza before sleeping one more night in the Yosemite valley.
Picture on Left: Brian, myself and Laurana at the John Muir Trail coming back from Vernal Falls (This is the point where it intersects with the Glacier Point trail)
Picture on Right: Brian and Laurana at the same location.
Posted: Sat - September 2, 2006 at 07:25 AM